Chewing gum manufacture



L. W. MAHLE l CHEWING GUM MANUFACTURE July 22, 1952 3 Sheets-Shee.

nmwdm mAmmmS Filed Feb. 16, 1948 M M m L u. w U O L V. E N m T T A.

ZHQ M/Aarwbw ZD H DMW@ En@ July 22 1952 w. MAHLE 2,604,056

CHEWING GUM MANUFACTURE Filed Feb. 16, 1948 3 Shets-Sheez. 2

FIGLZ.

l Jimi@ im l J LOUIS WILLIAM MAHLE ATTORNEY July 22, 1952 w. MAHLE2,604,056

CHEWING GUM MANUFACTURE Filed Feb. 16, 1948 s sheets-sneu s 3mm. LOUISWILLIJZM MHLE Y A TTORNEY ""nnallaminate l ."thatitheMustin Apatentdepends :on three separate Patented July 22`,` T1952 j UNITED Y FrankH.' Fleerl .Corporation,vv Phladelphia`.,'-Pa.,

Ya corporation @Delaware #Application February 16,is4s,f=seriai-No.s;539

f claims;

'-Thisi-invention lrelates :to a .new and 'improved Yapparatuslfor:preparing laminatedchewing gum andmare particularlyfzto -anovel :process andai)- eparatus; forwprodu'cingr` a? laminated' chewing.gum of the stickvarietylmade vof aninnerlayer of candy 'orflike'confectionerymaterial and two .ad- 4Vhering -outer l-ayerslofchewinggum,l or of an in- 1ner-layerof. chewing gum and two r adhering'outer :layers of candy.

l Laminated chewinggumfofithe vforegoing char- .act'erwor so-calledchewing 'gum fsandwichesf Sarenet broadly' new` seg-the lbasic :conceptbeing disclosedai-n the-11.2 S.-"patents' Vto Gilbert .B. Mustin Nos.1,771,506, 1,771,981and13715982, all issued oniJuly 29,1930. .The'flrstof these `patents di'sclosesandclainis a method forfmakingchewingsandwiches wherein. there' isi-provided l an inlner layerloff candyandwtwo-outerzlayers'of chewing gumwhile i-thetwo `latter patents showrprocesses forlpreparing laminated 'chewing gum iwherein thef-ir'iner'layerllis' composed -voit' chewingfgum #materlalfandthe'two-outer layersiaremadefc candy.

VWhilefthe present. inventionv is' t'o be described 'with-'respectetol-a `laminate having an inner Vlayer ff candy1land-*two'-outer layers-of vchewing gum, lit-"is' toY be l -understoodrthat the-.invention alsolcontemplatesthe production lof a` 'laminate-in "which :these layersarereversed,-solto-speak. In "other-flwords, 'the apparatus of ftheinvention 1 is perfectly capable offproducing. a laminate havingraminner?V layerof lgum'ffand twoouter layers yof candy. Y y

-'Thei disadvantages of the process and-apparatus fidisclosure, 1isobviously prophetic at most and 'invvolvesnothingmoren'or less thanthe'basio'c'on- `'cept lof producing; the three layenprodu'ct. The'schematic' and "dia'grarnmatic'y apparatus lshowing 'i'.frthe Mustinlptentf'drawing's serve 'only to em- ;'phasize' this. "The: vgunrand4candy layers'are, -in reality.' rriei'ely pulled through a series of-5rolls "which"would4 result in layers vf vvarying thick-e A"nesses:"m'aking for` a completely Vnon-uniform Furthermore, it will vloe*noted nate having-1an.: inner layer :,of; candy or. ,likeconrfectioneryand- Ztwoouter layers-.off chewing gum, or .the reversa; as previouslypointed out/,wherein the iforegoinguzandaother inherent? disadvantages""6 :of ,theprocessaandsschematic:apparatus of-.Mustn Patent .No.1,771,506` are; entirely .obviated ,.It is 1a.,..further1object .toprovide a: novel zarrangernent vof .efficient `apparatus'"unitseflectiveto..produce av chewing gunrflaminateof the fore- 10 .going character.

' Reference now :hadU to "the `drawings,infwhich. 1 i .A

"Fig. I isla sidefelevation of {the-apparatusshow- -ing the f .principalzorrressential :iparts thereof; in

'cooperative relation;

fiEig; aside elevation of the series of sheetsize-reducing rolls whichIare positioned 1immedia'tely ytothe "left of,.and.whichoonstitute.aconltinuation;l of,li'the apparatus shownifin "Fig: 1

`Fig. 3 is-faiside"elevation'finusectioniof thezgum Eig-4. isavfrontielevationlofthegum eiitruder;

Fig 5 is `"atf-ront 'eleva-tion -I of M.the lcandy: LTextrudelg.;

fFig. '.8f isV la l section taken along f line ri-i8 lof :accompanying`3o Fig. 5.

.Referringnowlto Figs; 1f andzrof. the' drawings, illustrating f the:general .combination .of elements making up the-apparatusofl1thei..presentinven Jtion, chewing gum lof ''de'siredcompositionY and `consistency issupplied-manua1ly1to 1a-"hopper lftruder, Vfrom. :either side-of the -advancingggum layers 4 and 1, isfed manually candy or other reduce the thickness ofthe laminate at thispoint to about one-third of its originalguncompressed thickness. Fromthe pressure rolls I4, I5, the4 D thus initially reduced laminateisledjfont in-i,v 'Y

clined endless belt I6 Vto be fed into Ya series of sizing or reducingrolls. Y

It is to be noted that the outer surface ofthe Aiisl lower gum layer 1is dusted from bin I1 andthat t the outer surface of upper gum layer 4is dusted from bin I8, to prevent adherence to the belts vor rolls withwhich these surfaces come' in contact'. There is .nordusting of theinner 'surface' of the" upperand lower Vgum layers because itisessential that the' candy layer adhere i'lrmly'to the two outer gumlayers. It goes without saying that no dusting medium is used on eitherside of the candy layer for the same reason. Powdered corn starch ormixtures of corn starch and sugar are used as dustingY media. Obviously,any other edible powder or finely ground material could be employed. Anydust which does not adhere to the gum layers falls downinto'dustretriever I9 and may be re-.used in the process; Before thegum-candy laminate proceeds to the sizing or rea ducing rolls, a portionof the dust is removed by Arollsfas shownin Fig.`2, is conventionalequipment and no claim is made to novelty therein. As shown; however,these reducing rolls are Veective to reduce the diameter of thelaminate, lstep by step, to a sheet of-gum of thedesired thickness.

The sheet is then scored and formed into sticks Vor slabs of gum'according to conventional procedure. l.

In Fig. 3 is shown the gum extruder comprising hoppenl, extrusionchamber 26, anda' pairof -complementarywormsor screws 21. Bolted onto[the forward Yend of the extrusion chamber 26- is a double .aperturedplate 28. The apertured plate 28 is divided to provide two orice slotsZSand 30 which are adjustable, in width through verticallymovableslottedelements 3! and'32 which are held .by means ofsetsof upperbolts 33 and lower bolts 34. I t isv mbe-noted that in order to reducethe .width Vof Athe -upper or lower `orices it is merely necessarytovraise elementr3l andv lowerrelementar. Y

Thus, either upper orlower slots maybe varied Yindesendenuy of theother. VBy this means, the

intermediatev candy layer may be brought nearer .or further from eithersurface ofthe nal lami- .nated sheet as desired. Or, due t0 differentextrusion rates, of the upper and lower gum sheets.

it may be necessaryiat times to open or close one or the other tomaintain the intermediate candy layer exactly in the middle of thenishedsheet.

Complete liberty in extrusion rates can thus be "maintained Y. I YNPlate28 is provided with an electric heating vab element not shown butgenerally designated by electric conductors 35 which is placed inoperation when the process is started in order to produce a smoothersheet of laminated gum. After the machine has been running for one-halfhour or longer, the heat of friction in the extruder wil1 sufce tokeepthe gumY smooth and the heater may be shut offiQ-k l. f

The candy extruder illustrated^in Figs. .5, 6, 7 and 8 of the drawingsis a very important feature of the present invention not only in and ofitself,

' but inthe way in which it is positioned with respectt'o the/upper andlower gum layers. ReferringV to the foregoingffgures inV detail, thecandy extruderwhich is'designated generally at I0, is made up of' twoidentical hoppers 36 and 36 throughwhichthercandy or lconfectionery isfed manually. The Acandy falls into an extruding chamberV 31 by gravityand is forced to the center thereof, from each end, by a series ofscrews or worms 38,39,74ll and 4I driven from appropriate gear boxes 48and 49.0f conventional type. Inter.- mediate the hoppers 36, and 31 isan orifice 42 parallel to the axis of-'theworms and provided withvertically adjustable slotted plates 43,' 44. -As in the case ofthegum'extruder, thesizeof the orifice 42 is varied at will by. sliding theplates 43 "and 44 upwardly or downwardly and holdingV them in place by aseries of bolts 45 and 45.,1Worms 4!) and 4I Vare shorter,l of course,than worms 38 and 3S so that the compressed candy mayphave -free andunimpeded accesslto` orifice 42.Y Orifice 42 is positioned directly inline withl the Vtwo ade vaneinggumfsheets. 'g ..5 .311

By virtue. of fthe. construction". f.,this candy extruder Ill wherebycandyiszfed'into;eitherside thereof, is propelled Vfrom both `'sidesinthelextrusion chamber; 31k tdzthe .center thereof: and is then forcedout aterightfangles. toetheextrufsion .chamber 31 and. the worms workingtherein, it is possible to* position thisl candy extruderas shown iinFig-i1l without thenecessity of spreadring upper gum layer 4 and lowergum layer 1 Vaninordinate distance I one from thel other. By

providing the particular candy extrudervshown, in'othenwords, ,it ispossibleto feedthe candy into hoppers 36 and 3'!l with great yfacilityfrom .both sidesof the layers Yofngum without-,Anterfering in any waywith the passage of. thea-.two gum strips thrugh the apparatus. .S'tatedYdif.-

Vferently, since hoppers 3|6 and .131,are positioned over the apparatusshown schematically inY MustinPatent No. 1,771,506. t Y

In order to obtainY proper coordination'fo'f .the gum and candy sheets,variable ,speed ldrives'V and V (Fig. 1) suchuas conventional Link-beltvariable speed` mechanism ory Reevesdrivesfraare provided to enablethespeeds of v4the, components to be varied at will.Thus,'--ifrtooinuchgurn is being extruded,variable speed drive V may beregulated to reduce the speed of the extruderworms, thus diminishing theamount of 'gum' deliveredto the extruder orifices. -Since gum isextensible'in "diierent source. than that vSupplievto, variable rspeed'drive .Thus -.-.th.ey; workentirely .independently ofeach;otherimechanicalln Itisalsp ateniese candy vary greatly in theirtensile strength at different temperatures, it is very important toprovide for the foregoing variable speed drive to adjust for suchvariations.

While the foregoing description is directed to the production of a threelayer laminate, it is to be understood that the invention is not limitedto such a laminate. The invention contemplates,

, in other words, laminates having any desired number of layers of gumand/or candy. Furthermore, the invention includes the production ofall-gum laminates to the exclusion of candy -lay-V ers. There may beprovided a laminate made up of alternate layers of different types ofgum or gums of different colors or flavors. As a further modification oralternative procedure, the :final laminate, instead of being produced inthe conventional stick form, may be, through the use of appropriatescoring knives, produced in the form of pillows or in the shape of thewellknown candy-coated units, in which case the gum may be on the insideof the unit l'with candy coating on the outside or, conversely, thecandy may be inside with a gum coating on the outside.

1t is also within the scope of the invention to provide an all-candylaminate. Thus, candy of one type could be extruded through the doubleextruder and candy of a diierent type through the single extruder.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for preparing laminated stick chewing gum comprising asingle means for simultaneously extruding under pressure twosuperimposed spaced fiat strips of chewing gum, means for elevating andadvancing the upper strip of gum, means for lowering and advancing thelower strip of gum, means in advance of said gum extruding means andbetween said elevating and advancing means for extruding under pressurea single flat strip of candy in the same direction as the advancingstrips of gum, said last named extruding means having two feed hoppers,each positioned beyond the running confines of all of the advancingstrips, said last named extruding means also having screw means thereinfor receiving candy fed. into both of the hoppers, forcing it from thebottom of the hoppers to the center of the extrudingr means and thencethrough a slot at right angles to the screw means, and means for joiningthe three strips to form a laminate.

2. An apparatus for preparing laminated stick chewing gum comprising a-single means for simultaneously extruding under pressure twosuperimposed spaced flat. stripsiof chewing gum, endless belt means forelevating and advancing the upper strip of gum, endless belt means forlowering and advancing and then raising and advancing the lower strip ofgum, means in advance of said gum extruding means and between saidendless belt means for extruding under pressure a single flat strip ofcandy inthe same direction as the advancing strips of gum, said lastnamed extruding means having two feed hoppers, each positioned beyondthe running conlines of all lo! #the ladvaningfis'tiipa said lastnamedfextrudingmeansalso-lhavingrscrew means therein for receiving candyfedi-into both "of vthe hoppers, forcingfit-ffrom-thebottomf the hoppersto the 'cntrofthe' itii'dingmeans and thencthrough a slot atrightfangles to the-'screw d means for rjoiriingthe threef strips v tolaminatdfstick rigf'fgim-comprising fsf l l l'siriultane"o'sly extrudingtnder pressure ftwo superimposed spaced iiat strips of candy, means forelevating and advancing the upper strip of candy, means for lowering andadvancing the lower strip of candy. means in advance of said'- candyextruding means and between said elevating. and advancing means forextruding under pressure a single fiat strip of chewing gum in the samedirection as the advancing strips of candy, said last named extrudingmeans having two feed hoppers, each positioned beyond the runningconfines of all of the advancing strips, said last named extruding meansalso having screw means therein for receiving gum fed into both of thehoppers, forcing it from the bottom of the hoppers to the center of theextruding means and thence through a slot at right angles to the screwmeans, and means for joining the three strips to form a laminate.

4. An apparatus for preparing laminated stick chewing gum comprising asingle means for simultaneously extruding under pressure twosuperimposed spaced flat strips of candy, endless belt means forelevating and advancing the upper strip of candy, endless belt means forlowering and advancing and then raising and advancing the lower strip ofcandy, means in advance of said candy extruding means and lbetween saidendless belt means for extruding under pressure a single flat strip ofchewing gum in the same direction as the advancing strips of candy. saidlast named extruding means having two feed hoppers, each positionedbeyond the running confines of all of the advancing strips, said lastnamed extruding means also having screw means therein for receiving gumfed into both of the hoppers, forcing it from the bottom of the hoppersto the center of the extruding means and thence through a slot at rightangles to the screw means, and means for Joining the three strips toform a laminate.

5. An apparatus for preparing laminated stick chewing gum comprising asingle means for simultaneously extruding under pressure twosuperimposed'spaced flat strips of chewing gum of onel type, means forelevating and advancing the upper strip of gum, means for lowering andadvancing the lower strip of gum, means in advance of said gum extrudingmeans and between said elevating and advancing means for extruding underpressure a single fiat strip of chewing gum of a second type in the samedirection as the advancing spaced strips of gum, said last namedextruding means having two feed hoppers, each positioned beyond therunning contines of all of the advancing strips, said last namedextruding means also having screw means therein for receiving gum fedinto both of the hoppers, forcing it from the bottom of the hoppers tothe center of the extruding means and thence through a slot at rightangles to the screw means. and means for joining the three strips toform a laminate.

` LOUIS WILLIAM MAI-ILE.

(References on following Pue)

